Leeds appoints three firms to ICT framework

Leeds City Council has appointed three suppliers in a framework approach to the provision of ICT services to itself and public sector partners.

Lockheed Martin Business Technology Solutions, Fujitsu Services and Methods Advisory Limited have been selected for the four year contract expected to be worth up to £10m.

The council launched the competition on behalf of itself, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust and Calderdale Borough Council.

The initial tender notice released earlier this year said: “The framework will be used on a project by project basis to supplement the council and its partners existing contracts and permanent / temporary resource.”

The successful suppliers will be required to “up-skill the council and its public service partners own workforce”.

According to the council, the three firms will be expected to adopt agile approaches, saying that a traditional systems integration approach “would not deliver the working relationship required”.

It hopes that the suppliers will subcontract services to small and medium enterprises in the Leeds City Region.

The council said that it chose not to divide the framework into lots to make it easier to manage.

It said: “Whilst it is theoretically possible to divide into lots based upon technologies or skill-sets, as the exact nature of work packages to award under the framework is unknown this could make the framework excessively onerous on the council to manage as it is likely individual work packages will comprise of several technologies and skills sets, the exact make-up of which is unknown in advance.”